Marquee Moon

by

Television

Edit

Like alot of folks, I'm wary of the reissue game. Tempting as bonus tracks are, I often find they ruin the integrity of the original release. That being said, this sounds a 1000x's better than the previous cd incarnation. And it' s nice to hear their long out of print 1st single, "Little Johnny Jewel" in it's entirety.

Though long associated with the CBGB Punk scene, they were far more ambitious than The Ramones ever were. I mean what is this stuff? Psychedelic Jazz Punk? Whatever it is, it's original. Verlaine croons like he's choking on a 25-cent hot dog at Gray's Papaya off 8th Avenue. And though his poetical leanings can often be obtuse, they're offset by a no nonsense, tough as nails rhythm section.

In terms of guitar playing, this band is armed with 2 guys who don't quite see eye to eye. Richard Lloyd's playing is as precise & solid as Verlaine is moody & improvisational. In other words, they are perfect foils. There's nothing quite like the epic title track. The lyrics seem ripped out of some lost notebook by Rimbaud. Musically, it's a dark, surreal sprial staircase---leading you back to from whence you came. The sonic equivalent of Carol Reed's the 3rd MAN.

In terms of barbed wit & killer hooks, how can you top the likes of "See No Evil", "Friction", "Elevation, & my personal favorite, "Proof It"? All of which makes the balladry of "Guiding Light" seem all the more delicate & fragile.

By far the darkest track is the closer,"Torn Curtain". In anyone else's hands it would come off as pure pretention. But they pull it off. Guess it even proved to be oddly prophetic. After this album, the band pretty much fell apart despite the flawed farewell of their follow up, ADVENTURE.

In terms of today's bands, Television's influence is undeniable. Radiohead. The Strokes. Artic Monkeys. Tape-n-Tapes. As competent as they are, after hearing this, they won't hold a candle. MARQUEE MOON is up ther with VU's "banana album" as one of the greatest albums a NYC based band has ever produced.

This is the sound of a station that's not on your regular dial. Music before the days of remote control & MTV banality. It's the TV you always wanted to see, only you have to close your eyes first. Shut them tight & tune in.

this is 8 songs, some of them a little on the boring side. "Marquee Moon", laid back as it is, is good, with haunting lyrics. The song "Friction" is the most powerful thing here (really one of only 2 rockers in the whole set). The dual guitar work in "Friction" is about the best I have ever heard, it sends chills up my spine sometimes. Killer tune. Other than that-it's almost easy listening. It IS a LITLE too rough for the Cheryl Crow market, but not by all that much. This reminds you of what was called "progressive rock", as much, no MORE, than punk.